Dimitrios Tsioumas has been part of the hair photo world for years. He has been a finalist or winner in multiple categories of NAHA and regularly holds photoshoots for his own collections. This year he is a NAHA finalist for Stylist of the Year, Contemporary Classic and Haircolor, and Dimitrios and the rest of us will hear the results this July 22 in Las Vegas.

Just this week Dimitrios and I (along with John Moroney, Rona O'Connor and Nick Arrojo), were judges for Goldwell's Color Zoom Challenge 2012. We all met at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore for 2 days of intense viewing of the hundreds of photographs entered in the US  competition. Color Zoom is divided in to three categores: New Talent (haircolorists with 5 years or less of experience), Creative (colorists with 6 or more years of experience) and Partner (designated for Goldwell affiliated artists). The images from the five finalists in each category will be sent to Goldwell's home office in Germany where one finalist from each will be selected to represent the United States at the grand international Color Zoom Challenge in London this October.

During the judging process, Dimitrios and I were stopped at a particular photo that had FANTASTIC hair...both cut and color....but the look did not suit the model. We started chatting and I said "Let's hold this until after we've finished. I want to get this all on video." Once finished, I sat with Dimitrios to get his feelings on photo hair and what makes a great "winning" photo.

"The bar has risen," he says. "There is so much quality today both in the hair, make up, fashion and photography. Planning is crucial,and all the elements must come together."

Dimitrios went on to say that he never compromises, especially on the model choice. "The model is one of the most important elements.  He or she must make that vision come to life. I won't settle for just an OK photo. there are so many little details and all the elements must make sense." Maybe what makes his photos so special is that Dimitrios always shoots for himself, with the goal of creating a photo that pleases him....not the judges.

When asked what to do when things are falling in to place, he says that there could be something special in there...even if it's just one shot. "One shot is all you need," he says. "I look for those moments...even when it IS falling in to place...for something special. But if there is something off, you can always play with different angles. It important to let your whole team weigh in and find a way to make that photo come to life."

The finalists from each category (Partner, New Talent, Creative) were announced just after this interview. Congratulations to those listed here.

New Talent Semi-Finalists

Kassandra Retos

Krave Salon

Washington, PA

Melissa Iris Garner

Mizu New York

New York, NY

Michael Gierl

Mizu New York

New York, N

Nicole Larsen

Salon Vivo 

San Carlos, CA

Zachary Allen Jancek

Robert Allen Salon

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Creative Semi-Finalists

Kati McDonald

Tangles

Wichita Falls, TX

Leslie Cook 

Tangles    

Wichita Falls, TX

Michelle Azouz           

Tangles          

Wichita Falls, TX

Robin Cook

Tangles

Wichita Falls, TX

Salina Bernal

Tangles

Wichita Falls, TX

Partner Semi-Finalists

Daniel Rubin

Alpha Hair Design, Inc.

Berkeley, IL

Derrick Zeno

TresImage

Reno, NV

Nicholas Pagano

I.D. Salon

Syosset, NY

Robert Brown 

Hairobert Salon

Germantown, TN

Tiffany Conway

CoCo Cheveux

South Portland, ME